Friday, October 05, 2007

Route 66 in Dwight, Illinois


Scroll down a couple of posts to see my now-concluded "My Kansas Kronikles" series. On my way home from Kansas back to the Chicago area I had to hustle--there was a family party to attend that evening--but I picked an excellent place to fill up my gas tank--just off Interstate 55 but adjacent to Historic Route 66 in Dwight, Illinois, a town of 4,300 in Livingston County.

No, I didn't buy any gasoline at this Texaco station--it closed eight years ago. What's pictured above is the Ambler-Becker Texaco Station, built in 1933--a sign outside of it makes the claim that it was the longest operating service station on "The Mother Road." It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Across the street from the historic site is The Java Stop, which seems to be a going concern, but was closed for the day--it was after 5:00pm on a Saturday when I took the picture on the left.

Route 66 of course began in Chicago--at Jackson Boulevard east of Lake Shore Drive.
Commemorative signs such as this one mark the road, which goes merges into Ogden Boulevard on Chicago's West Side. On Sunday my out of shape body will travel on The Mother Road, on Ogden, during the Chicago Marathon, for a few block of that 26.2 mile trek.

Related posts:

My Kansas Kronikles: Goodbye to Kansas

Thirty hours in Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois

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